Kolkata: The Kolkata franchise of the much-anticipated Indian Super League was on Wednesday christened Atletico de Kolkata, taking a cue from their Spanish co-owners and Champions League finalist Atletico de Madrid. Owner and chief executive of the Champions League finalists, Miguel Angel Gil Marin along with his city based co-owners including former India captain Sourav Ganguly, industrialists Harsh Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka and Utsav Parekh, unveiled the team but said they were yet to finalise the jersey as it had to get the approval of the ISL.
There is also a proposal to get the Atletico Madrid squad to play a friendly match here once the city team was formed. “We are also looking for pre-season training in Madrid for the Kolkata franchise,” Neotia said. Also unveiling the name of the consortium as the Kolkata Games and Sports Private Limited, the five parnters pledged to take Indian football to the next level.
“Atletico breathes football, lives around football. It’s a great idea to expand our brand and reach a new market. India and China are huge markets. Atletico also collaborates in different countries through the Alteitco de Madrid foundation. We will try to support many kids who want to develop football. “We are trying two different ways, one through academies and another through the franchise,” Miguel said handing over an official La Liga football with autographs of the team members.
The Atletico officials also presented the four city owners their official personalised Atletico Madrid jersies with the common number 19 — which belongs to their most popular player Diego Costa. Added Ganguly, “Our club will try and bring together the best talent to form a team with the driving thought of ‘playing to win’. Kolkata has been central to football in our country and our objective is to ensure that we re-gain the position.
